Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce – Recipe

Make your own ghost pepper hot sauce at home with this recipe, which includes plenty of chopped ghost peppers, tomatoes, vinegar and salt. Big flavor, big spice! With a pleasant blast of heat. Drizzle it over everything!

Ghost pepper hot sauce coming at you, baby! You GOTTA have some ghost pepper sauce in the fridge for times when you need that extra bit of heat. Our ghost pepper plants weren’t quite as productive as our 7-pot plants this year, but we still got plenty of pods for whipping up some hot sauce.

Hot sauces are one of my favorite foods to make. I’ve become a bit fanatical about it, really. I’ve come to need a big variety on hand for all the different types of meals I make. You can tell by the growing collection of Hot Sauce Recipes on the web site.

I’ve been moving into making flavors and combinations of all different sorts, but we’re keeping it super simple with this sauce. Sometimes simple is best.

With only 7 ingredients, you can make this sauce in about a half an hour, not including chopping time. Most of the time is spent watching the ingredients simmer to cook down a bit and let the flavors meld.

How to Make Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce – The Recipe Method

The unfortunate part of this recipe is that it is best to wait a few days or even longer to let the flavors mingle and mellow slightly in the bottle. Of course you can eat it right away, but I like the flavor that much more after waiting.

So have a little patience, will ya?

The flavor is spicy for sure, but somewhat fruity from the ghosts and savory with the tomatoes. This is one of my very favorites.

Safety Advice

When working with hotter peppers, including superhots, it is important to wear gloves when handling the peppers both in raw and dried forms. The oils can get on your skin and cause burning sensations. See above.

Also, the fumes from the chili peppers and/or the fine powders may get into the air if you are not working in a well ventilated room, so you may want to wear a mask and goggles. Superhot chili peppers, truly, are called superhots for a reason.

Here are some answers based on the many comments I get on other sauces. Here goes:

How long will this hot sauce keep?

It should keep a few months easily in the fridge, or even longer. It’s all about the acidity. To be technical, target level ph for shelf stable foods is below 4.6 ph, but should probably be lower for home cooks, around 4.0 or so, to account for errors. I have not measured the ph of this sauce, but I won’t have it around very long anyway. If you’re concerned, add more vinegar to lower the ph.

Can I process this hot sauce for longer storage?

Absolutely. Just be sure to use proper canning/jarring safety procedures.

What should I do with hot sauce?

Aside from drizzling it over anything you please, here’s a post I did about How to Cook with Hot Sauce. As if you need even MORE reasons to eat hot sauce. I hope you find it helpful!

Can You Die from Eating Ghost Peppers?

It is possible to overdose on capsaicin, the chemical that makes chili peppers hot. However, the only way you can die from eating ghost peppers is if you eat them in sufficient quantity. A study performed in 1980 calculated that it would take consuming 3 pounds of superhot pepper powder, like ghost pepper powder, to kill a person weighing 150 pounds. It is highly unlikely anyone could consume that amount, as their body would react before reaching such a limit.

Ghost Pepper Flavor

Ghost peppers offer a an intense sweet pepper flavor that is quite fruity. The heat is more of a blooming heat, taking 30 seconds or longer to kick in. As they measure over 1 Million SHU, you can imagine that is quite hot. The burning generally rises in intensity over the next 10-15 minutes, then subsides after 30-40 minutes.

Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.

Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce - Recipe

Make your own ghost pepper hot sauce at home with this recipe, which includes plenty of chopped ghost peppers, tomatoes, vinegar and salt. Big flavor, big spice! With a pleasant blast of heat. Drizzle it over everything!

Hi, Oleksander. I have not measured the ph of this sauce, but this hot sauce should keep a few months easily in the fridge, or even longer. It’s all about the acidity. To be technical, target level ph for shelf stable foods is below 4.6 ph, but should probably be lower for home cooks, around 3.5 or so, to account for errors. If you’re concerned, add more vinegar to lower the ph. You can very easily add in more vinegar. Good luck!

I’ve used this as a base recipe for hot sauces since finding this site and it never disappoints. Have swapped the ghost peppers with everything from jalapeno for less heat to scorpion peppers and reapers for some crazy heat. Hottest was with dehydrated scorpion peppers. Wow. Yesterday made this with a handful of jalapenos and serrano peppers. Typically throw in some chopped garlic and a cup of water to lessen the thickness. Simmer for 45 minutes. Secret ingredient is perri-perri seasoning. 1 Tablespoon when you add the water. Give it a try!

Thank you for your website. Each recipe is unique and full of flavor and heat. You’re a go to when it comes to sauces!!!

Amazing recipe. Just made it for the 2nd time, I used dried peppers because I didn’t have fresh ones so I just put them in hot water for 30 mins to get them closer to fresh peppers, and used 6 ghost peppers with the addition of 2 carolina reapers, a small clove of garlic, a bit of paprika (I’d use smoked paprika but didn’t have any), and a tiny touch of dried oregano and dried basil. It turned out just amazing once again, and all of my spice hating friends ended up eating lots of it and suffering while enjoying the great taste. Would recommend to anyone who loves hot foods, Thanks for the great recipe, I will surely make lots of it in the future.

This is an amazing recipe. I made this sauce this morning with ghost peppers from our garden. While I love all things spicy my husband is not a huge fan of super spicy. I ended up only using 3 ghost peppers and it was the perfect level of spice so my husband could enjoy it as well. I ended up caramelizing the onion and the ghost pepper, added garlic as someone suggested in another review. I also used 15 to 20 drops of liquid smoke per pint of sauce which gave it a nice smoky flavor. Will definitely make this recipe again! Thank you for sharing it.

Samantha, I don’t peel them, but you can for this recipe. If you want to, slice and “x” into the bottom of the tomatoes then blanch them until the skins loosen, then peel them off and proceed with the recipe. Alternatively, you can strain the hot sauce at the end for a smoother sauce. Let me know how it turns out for you.

Made this today using cherokee purple heirloom tomatoes. The only thing I changed was a clove of garlic. Made a double batch because ghost pepper plants are really doing well. Counted thirty more green peppers on one plant alone. Sauce came out amazing. Hint of sweetness from the tomatoes followed by intense heat of the ghost pepper. Love it. If you don’t like really hot sauce, I would suggest using 4 or less ghost peppers. My peppers were pretty large so may just be that, but I have no complaints. Like mine hot.

Thanks for the amazing recipes and suggestions. Just made this with a couple alterations: 1. Added two carrots (simmered with onions and peppers for ten minutes) 2. Added another half cup of water and two more tbsp of vinegar to make consistency more in line with what I like. 3. I used apple cider vinegar instead of red wine, just a personal preference. 4. Fire roasted the tomatoes on the grill. Flavor is amazing, my mouth was on fire for a half hour after I had it, but in a good way. My next batch, I will likely decrease the tomatoes, again, just a personal preference. The color is beautiful on this one. I did it all outside on the bbq as to not destroy the sinuses of my family.

Great Recipe! I did add a few more peppers. 16 Ghost, 6 Habanero, 6 Red Jalapeño. I smoked them all plus 8 Cloves of garlic for 1hr at 125 degrees. I then added a jar of stewed tomatoes and a few other small ingredients. Needless to say it smells amazing and as I put a drop on my tongue, I lost all sense of living. Once I regained consciousness, I realized this sauce is delicious and I’m sure it’ll get richer the longer it sits. Good Luck and be careful.

Hi Michael this is my second year making your hot sauce. I made multiple batches last year cause of the abundance Ghost and Reaper plants. Our plants grow in the ground and they last well into October. I wound up making a green sauce as I could not bear to watch the green peppers freeze to death!

Cooking out side is best if possible otherwise you must open up the windows in your house, but I love the smell so warnings go out before I cook. Gloves are necessary for first timers but I’m crazy and don’t.

No to all if you do wear gloves, do not take them off until after you’re finished thoroughly washing your equipment. And don’t forget to be well ventilated Even when you’re washing up everything. It’s potent sauce And I use it every day on my salad! Thanks again.

Great article. I will make a batch of Ghost hot sauce today. I usually make large batches of hot sauce at a time, then freeze them in plastic containers for future use. Is freezing not recommended for preserving hot sauce for long periods?

Thanks, Joe. Let me know how it turns out for you. Yep, this hot sauce freezes without issue. It will last in the fridge quite a while. Just check the acidity. pH of 3.5 or lower is ideal. You can also water bath it for longer shelf keeping. But freezing is no problem. Enjoy!

I grow serranos to make giardeneria. I grew some ghost peppers as well last year and would add only one or 2 into the mix that fills about 4 large Ball jars for canning, so basically a ton of serranos, carrot, celery, pimiento olives, cauliflower, seasoning, canola oil, all brined, diced, a run through some vinegar, bottle and seal. It created a lot of extra heat. I’m growing again this year and still have some of the canned jars from last year, opened a jar today, the oil alone could strip paint, very hot, which is kind of normal, it does gain a little heat over time. Might try a mild giardeneria or even just olive mix and add a few of the Ghosts. My brother cooked them like a jalapeño popper, ate them, but he’s challenged on many levels. I think I will also make a giardeneria with Balsamic and some ghosts. In years past the balsamic was horrible for Italian beef, etc, but awesome on pork chops and the heat of the serranos was greatly, greatly reduced. Worth a shot, they are already growing on my rooftop.

Hi Mike, I just want to say how much I love this site. I’ve tried several recipes and all are great. Just a quick story about this recipe. While I had everything in the pan the fumes got in the air and I inhaled more than I should have. I went into a sneezing and coughing frenzy on and off for 20 minutes. My 15 year old walked in and he started. Shortly after that my 12 year old walked in and turned around and walked back out he didn’t want to come in. It was pretty funny. It did turn out great. I keep a bottle at home and one to share with the guys at work. Thanks for all these great recipes.

Thanks a lot, Barry. I really appreciate it. Yes, the fumes can sometimes get you when working with peppers, especially the superhots. It’s best to work in a well ventilated room if you can do so, but even then they can get you! I’ve been there. Have a good one!!

I just made this, but doubled the recipie to 12 ghost peppers, alogn with doubling the other ingrediants, it is so good! My ghost pepper plant has about 50 of them on it, had no idea what to do with them without making something uneatable, this sauce tastes so good, I took it to work and my coworkers loved it and took some for themselves! I am gonna be making another batch of this soon, thanks! I guess one question would be, what kind of onions do you use? I used white onions, but could you use different ones?

Awesome, Shane! Super happy that you love it! It’s one of my favorites for sure. You can use either white or yellow onions, to your preference, really, though shallots are good. Red would be OK, but those tend to have more bite to them. Enjoy!

Subbed 3 serrano for 3 ghost peppers (I only had 3 :c), subbed apple cider vinegar for red wine vinegar, and added maybe a tsp of raspberry balsamic vinegar. Has a nice slow but gradually increasing burn, and a whisper of tart fruitiness from the balsamic and ACV. Going to try following the exact recipe after I get more peppers, but the modified version is pretty good too ^_^

Outstanding sauce! This was my first attempt at hot sauce and after altering just a bit (I was afraid of the heat) I ended up with something fantastic! I made a quintuple recipe adding to it 2 red bell peppers, 50 baby carrots and using apple cider and red wine vinegar plus three table spoons of lime juice. I needed higher acidity as I am planning to can this and give as Christmas gifts. Anyway, the smell while cooking was mouthwatering and the final result… addictive. I kept a small amount out of the canned supply because it smelled so good! We put this-hot from the batch- on fajitas… amazing! Fruity and extremely flavorful followed by heat at the end. Will be making a batch with Carolina Reapers tomorrow. Thank you for a great recipe!

Fantastic hot sauce! Checks all the boxes for flavor followed by heat! I adjusted a bit only because I was afraid of it… I made a quintuple recipe, added two red peppers, 50 baby carrots, and used apple cider and red wine vinegar plus a little lime juice because I want to can it for storage. It smelled outstanding during the cook and tasted great on grilled cheese sandwiches (we kept a tiny bit aside for immediate use- curiosity killed the cat). Tomorrow I take on the Carolina Reaper- using a combination of this recipe and your super hot recipe. Thank you! As a first time hot sauce maker, I now know I can create something delicious with all our beautiful peppers!

Hi Mike, My husband is pepperhead like you so this year I decided I was going to grow some hot peppers for him. Unfortunately the ghosts and Carolina’s never came in 🙁 the plants are big and beautiful and tons of flowers, but no fruits. The habaneros however came in really good so I was going to use them for a sauce instead. I was just wondering how many you would reccomend using? For my husband, the hotter the better. I’ve never made a hot sauce before so I thought I’d ask your opinion first. Thanks a bunch! 🙂

Sorry to hear, Ashley. Bummer. You can make this exact sauce with habaneros. You can easily double or even triple the habaneros in the recipe. It calls for 6 peppers, but the more the merrier! It will be thicker, so you can thin it out a bit with more vinegar and/or water if you’d like. Or check out my Hot Sauce Recipes page. I have a number of Habanero Hot Sauce Recipes you can try. Let me know how it comes out for you!

Great! Yes, you can use dried ghost peppers for this recipe. Just rehydrate them first. Here is a link – How to Rehydrate Chili Peppers. I make hot sauces with dried peppers all the time. Let me know how he likes it!

Ashley, try ordering a blossom booster such as Jack’s classic Blossom Booster 10-30-20. My ghost plants weren’t producing (1 per plant) this summer until I used this. I did two applications and ended up with over 35 peppers for 3 mid-sized plants by fall this year. They’re still pumping out peppers in mid-november now, under a blue/red LED grow light! Hope this help. Mike, I’ll give your recipe a go for bottling these up for personal use and x-mas presents! Thanks so much!

I’m reading this recipe and can’t wait to try it. I have two fully loaded Thai Chili pepper plants that I’ll use, and a few tomatoes left over from my garden. I’m also going to make one adding peaches, like another recipe on this page. AWESOME STUFF!

I used homegrown chillies,which were a little small, so upped the quantity to 18 (mistake) and doubled the other ingredients. This recipe seems to scale really well, if (currently) a little vinegary for my taste, so I will add more of the tomato/onion base and reduce the heat enough for my wife to try it, otherwise I have a huge amount of this lava to consume by myself.

I flame roasted the tomatoes (to peel them), and used a 50/50 mix of cider/red vinegar, and the addition of an apple (peeled, cored & diced) for an extra fruity tang.

Really good results, so I will be adapting this recipe for other chilli crops on the way.

I followed your recipe. But as usual I added some things. 2 cloves of garlic, a Carolina reaper, an Italian red hot, and an Italian fryer. from my garden. plus 1/2 cup of my favorite October fest beer. Thanks Mike!

getting ready for the cold that is soon to come to us here in Minnesota, This will keep me warm all winter. Planted ghost peppers for the first time this year,they produced like crazy,needed something to use them in…..WOW!!! thanks for this recipe,,,,at least 2 more batches are in the future…Worst part of the recipe is waiting a few days

How much sauce did this recipe actually make? I’m planning to can my sauce in small batches but need to know how many bottles you got out of this one recipe before I start multiplying it. Thanks in advance! Sherry

Sascol, absolutely. Ghost peppers are pretty darned hot, so you can very easily substitute some of them with milder peppers. You’ll still get good flavor and a heat level you prefer. Let me know how it turns out for you.

Just made this yesterday, and it turned out great! The tomatoes and onion i used were a little bigger that what was listed here, so i threw a couple extra ghost peppers in to compensate. Not sure i needed to do that because man this stuff is HOTTT! Will definitely be making this again! Thank you for helping me enter the wonderful world of superhot recipes!!!

Into my 20 minute simmer. The house smells fabulous and spicy! I tasted one tiny drop of the juice that dripped off the spoon and it is exactly what I was looking for. I just might grow more ghost peppers next summer. Thank you for the recipe. Now to make myself wait a few days after I bottle it!

My wife and I grow a lot of different types of peppers and are alway looking for new recipes to try. We doubled the recipe in order to use our ghost peppers both brief and fresh and WOW.! This is hot! Great flavor and excellent heat! Thanks for sharing. We can’t wait to try more.

Paul, if it is too vinegary for your tastes, I would cook down some more tomato and/or peppers and process them with the finished sauce to dilute the vinegar. Then cool and bottle it back up. Let me know how that turns out for you. I don’t believe the vinegar flavor will fade much otherwise.

I only have 2 Ghost Peppers ripe on the plant, but I have 1 Carolina Reaper and 1 Trinidad Scorpion also ready. If I use those to replace some of the Ghost peppers and also a couple of Scotch Bonnet do you think that will work with the same of everything else?

Michael, After writing I left for a 9 day trip and when I returned I had 3 Ghost peppers ripe, 3 Carolina Reaper and 4 Trinidad Scorpions, 20 Scotch Bonnet. Along with about 55 other peppers of various kinds. I made the Ghost pepper Sauce with a half recipe. The Scotch Bonnet Sauce, The hottest sauce with the reapers and scorpions, the Chili Oil and the Pique. All the peppers, Basil and Culantro instead of Cilantro was from our garden. I have to say they are great and hot. THANK YOU! Had to post on Instagram and show off the sauces from your recipes.

I am wanting to make this but had a quick question. I was gifted three bags of dehydrated peppers (2 bags of ghosts and 1 bag of scorpions) and was wondering if you had a good method for rehydrating them?

Hey, Joseph. If you’re concerned about the heat, try dialing back on the ghost peppers and sub in an equivalent amount of milder peppers. You could easily make this with half ghost peppers, half red bell peppers. Let me know how it turns out for you.

Preparation Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, chile peppers, habaneros to taste and garlic and cook, stirring, until the onion is soft and beginning to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Add tomatoes, vinegar, salt and sugar to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes break down, about 5 minutes. Carefully transfer the tomato mixture to a food processor or blender. Puree until smooth. (Use caution when pureeing hot ingredients.) Set a fine-mesh sieve over a medium bowl; pour the pureed mixture through the sieve, pushing on the solids with a wooden spoon to extract all the liquid. (Discard solids.) Let the sauce cool to room temperature, about 1½ hours.

Really tasty, DELICIOUS! It’s winter so there is no getting fresh ghost peppers or fresh tomatoes that have flavor so I had to utilize Dave’s Gourmet Whole Ghost Peppers that I foundonline and a 14.5 oz. can of Hunts diced tomatoes and this still rocked. I can’t wait to have some fresh produce. Now I will allow it to sit in the refrigerator for a few days to come to its full potential.

Note: I had to add some additional water and I could not resist adding a clove of garlic.

Just made this with 7 Ghost, 5 truss tomatoes and apple cider vinegar can’t wait to taste the finished sauce. I did make the mistake of eating some of the chilli before it went into the pan… DAMN !!! those chilli’s are HOT. Dave, Gold Coast, Australia.

I need a source to either get 5oz bottles from or co packer that can bottle my sauce up and out my artwork on it for a reasonable price. Amy pointer to get me in the right direction. Also the shelf life of the suave should be a few months correct , with all the acidity and fresh garden items I used.. p.s. I am making a Trinidad scorpion moruga hot sauce and found raw coconut vinegar at the store so did a mixture of that along with red wine vinegar and it works out really well to give greatflavor in the beginning before the scorpion sticks you with his venom lol. Thanks for any help anyone can give me on my questions

Just made this sauce with a few substitutions. Instead of black vinegar, I used 4 tsp of cold brew coffee concentrate, and for mustard I used a lemon tarragon dijon that I had in the fridge already. BANGIN’ SAUCE. The smell of the ghost peppers roasting was intoxicating. Thanks for the recipe!

Could I substitute the Ghost Peppers for Thai Hot Dragon peppers instead and how many should I use?

REPLY: Hanif, absolutely. Curious how it will turn out for you. I would go by weight and use about 2-3 ounces of peppers, though you can easily include more for this recipe. — Mike from Chili Pepper Madness.

SIX bhut jolokia to 2/3 C salsa? And this is not tongue in a glass of ice cubes hot??? I’ve been warned @ burning myself. Found Trinidad Scorpions for first time @ Asian Mkt. & they told me use only “one 1/2 Scorpion to 2 gallons salsa,” which Was already made with 1:1 tomatoes: peppers (avg. 100k Scoville) and was simmering @ home on the stove totally mild. Defiantly, I added a whole Scorpion. Barely more heat. So how many Bhut Jolokias (or frozen Trinidad’s) should I add to the 6 remaining quarts of salsa, while I’m also trying your Ghost Pepper Salsa recipe today?

Hi, Can I use white vinegar instead of red? Also will wine tomatoes test same as farmer markets ones in the sauce. I never tried ghost peppers sauce friend of mine just gave me and I saw your sauce recipe. Looks delicious can’t wait to try.

REPLY: Seema, yes, you can use white vinegar, as well as substitute other tomatoes. You will have some flavor variation, but it won’t be a massive change. Let me know how it turns out for you. Send a pic! — Mike from Chili Pepper Madness.

I (16YO) made this recipe (22 fl oz) for my family to complement my signature burritos. My mother generally doesn’t do excessively spicy foods, but she can’t stay away from it. My brother will love this when he comes to visit. Thanks for the amazing recipe!! 10/10

Any idea on the weight o “6 bhut jolokia peppers”? The peppers which come off my plants are usually either way bigger or way smaller, so “6 peppers” doesn’t help much, weight would be way easier to work with.

REPLY: Jeff, an average ghost pepper weighs between 7-9 grams, so figure accordingly. From my experience, this recipe is easily adaptable and you can vary the amount of peppers by a great deal, depending on your preferred heat level. Same goes with the tomatoes. — Mike from Chili Pepper Madness.

I have a good crop of cayenne peppers but they have not gone red because of our short growing season at 53 degrees north in England. Will they work as well as red chillies whilst green or do you recommend another recipe? I have used ‘Basket of Fire’ chillies to great effect with this recipe

REPLY: Jeremy, you CAN use this recipe, though the flavor will be more “green”, unripened flavor. I think it could still work, though. You might balance some of that out with other ingredients, like garlic and onion. Let me know how it turns out. — Mike from Chili Pepper Madness.

REPLY: Bill, click “Resources” at the top menu and select either Plants or Seeds and see if any of those sellers can provide you with fresh pods. If you have trouble, email me and I can put in you in touch with some potential resources. — Mike from Chili Pepper Madness.

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WELCOME!

Hi, Everyone! I'm Mike, your chilihead friend who LOVES good food. I love it spicy, and hopefully you do, too. Here you'll find hundreds of spicy recipes of all levels, some with a little, some with a LOT, but everything is adjustable to your personal tastes. You'll also learn a lot about chili peppers and seasonings, my very favorite things.